


Curiosity Will Be the Death of Me

by frozenCinders



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Gen, even is a protective dad, he's not in this one though, uncle braig cinematic universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-23
Updated: 2019-04-23
Packaged: 2020-01-24 14:40:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18573547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frozenCinders/pseuds/frozenCinders
Summary: Vanitas starts to think he's been a fool for talking to Ienzo like it's nothing, like he's not potentially risking his life any time he lets any resident of Radiant Garden see him. Though he wasn't actually born as Ienzo's brother, he doesn't want to have to stay away from another one.





	Curiosity Will Be the Death of Me

"... What are you doing?!"

Vanitas freezes, turning his head slightly to look over his shoulder, but Ienzo is in the way so he can't actually see behind himself.

"Put him down this instant!"

Vanitas looks up at Ienzo, who makes no indication that he'd like to be let down off of his shoulders, and then he takes off running. He has to slow down when Ienzo starts struggling to hold on, pulling at Vanitas's hair with one hand and almost choking him with the one on his throat.

"Eugh," he half-coughs, coming to a halt and pulling Ienzo's hand off of his throat. "Are you trying to kill me?"

He still feels movement and he looks up to see Ienzo silently laughing. Vanitas will have to get him to laugh fully one of these days.

"Ha..! You can't run now!" the voice from earlier pants as its owner rounds the corner. Vanitas had ducked into an alley to stop Ienzo from choking him, effectively trapping the two of them now that this man stands in the way. He's wearing a lab coat like the tiny one Ienzo has on.

"You must be Even," Vanitas guesses, kneeling down to let Ienzo off. He's reluctant to move at first, but he climbs down after a bit of waiting.

"And who might you be? Ienzo, you should know better than to engage with strangers," he scolds, still out of breath. He beckons Ienzo toward him, who trots over without a fuss.

"Don't worry about it," Vanitas dismisses rather than introducing himself. "And besides, I'm only a stranger to you, not him."

"That's not possible. I have never seen you before today," Even says, still glaring suspiciously at him. "Ienzo, how long have you known this boy?"

Ienzo doesn't acknowledge the question at all and only stares at Vanitas.

"I'll take that to mean you've just met him," Even assumes, and Vanitas tilts his head.

"What's the matter, you haven't found the trick to getting him to talk?" he asks, and Even looks mildly horrified, as if he's assuming Vanitas must be referring to torture or something. He stands in front of Ienzo and holds a hand out as soon as Vanitas moves.

"Not one step closer. I can call the castle guards," he warns.

"Go ahead," Vanitas calls his bluff, because he knows Even doesn't have any way of actually summoning them. He'd just have to yell for them, and Vanitas could scale the walls of the alley and be out of there long before they arrive. Besides, it might even end up being Braig who shows up.

Even just squints at him, still defensive.

"Has he done anything to you?" he asks Ienzo without taking his eyes off of Vanitas. Ienzo shakes his head, but Even doesn't see.

"You should look at him when you talk to him," Vanitas recommends, receiving another full-blown glare. "Jeez, I thought you were supposed to be his guardian. Shouldn't you know how he works by now?"

"And just how would you know any of this? Who have you been talking to?"

"Ienzo."

"That's a lie," Even accuses, and he's not entirely wrong. It's just that only _some_  of his information came from Ienzo, and he's not about to admit his connection to Braig.

"Ienzo, how long have you been in contact with this boy?" he tries again, but Vanitas can tell it's not the type of question he likes to answer.

"Hey, you liked the music I showed you last Sunday, right?" Vanitas asks instead. Ienzo processes the question for a moment while Even gives him a strange look. He looks at Ienzo just in time to see him nod.

"There. That's at least five days accounted for," Vanitas says. "I honestly don't remember how long it's been. Couple months, maybe."

"And just how have you been interacting with him without my knowledge..? Ienzo scarcely leaves the castle without supervision."

Vanitas sucks in air through his teeth.

"Ooh, there's a lot you don't know about, huh?" he taunts. "But don't worry, I'll keep him from wandering off and finding anything dangerous."

It's funny to him, because Ienzo already found something dangerous-- if not Vanitas himself, then the Unversed that led him to him.

"You don't appear at all trustworthy," Even says outright, but although it might be because Vanitas is just getting used to his glaring, he doesn't seem as on guard as he was.

"Jeez, fine. From now on, whenever he wanders outside in the middle of the night, I'll just leave him totally alone."

Even gasps at that, and Ienzo clutches Even's coat and looks a little guilty. Vanitas figures he's probably miffed that he ratted him out.

"Ienzo, you should know better--"

"How often do you say that?" Vanitas interrupts, and he can't tell if he's amused or annoyed. "You know he's 8, right? How much do you expect him to know?"

"Young as he may be, I teach him well. Or, at least, I _thought_  he was learning."

Even begins to say something else, but Ienzo interrupts him.

"Vani says he's used to being looked at like he's a monster, but I want you to stop."

The nickname is cute, but it's only in use because Ienzo has been told not to use Vanitas's full name.

Maybe it's because the only authority figures in Vanitas's life so far have been a terrible old man and a chaotic adoptive uncle, but he doesn't at all expect what Even says next.

"If he really is sneaking out in the middle of the night, please continue to look after him," he requests with a sigh. "If you're somebody he trusts... well, at least I'll know who to search for first if anything happens to him."

"Nothing will happen to him." He didn't mean to say it so firmly. It confuses him a bit.

"I will hold you to that," Even nods. "The consequences for if you go against your word will be dire."

Even turns around, but Ienzo keeps looking at Vanitas. Vanitas mockingly mouths what Even had last said and sticks his tongue out at him, and Ienzo giggles. Vanitas pretends like nothing happened when Even whips around and starts looking for whatever made him laugh.

From his mischief, an accidental Unversed spawns behind Vanitas, and he's lucky Even turned back around in time to miss it...

At least, he would have been, if Ienzo hadn't noticed it.

"Is that one of them? What kind is that?" he asks immediately, always chatty when he's trying to learn. "You said you have names for the different ones. What's this one?"

Vanitas turns around to check and sees an inanimate, ornate box in the corner of the alley. He walks over to it and kicks it, resulting in three spidery legs popping out as it skitters and hops around.

"What in the world--?! Ienzo, no!" Even yells as Ienzo runs towards it. Vanitas takes a quick sidestep to stop him, holding him back in case the Unversed lashes out.

"Let's call it a Spiderchest," he decides based solely on the way it looks. "Satisfied?"

"It looks happy," he comments, observing the way it frolics around. "I thought Unversed were made of negative emotions?"

"Uh... it's a little complicated."

"Can you explain it? Please?"

When the Spiderchest wanders too close to Ienzo, Vanitas summons his Keyblade and strikes it down. It results in an uncomfortable feeling in his chest, but he puts up with it. It's when the Unversed keep returning to him altogether that the pain paralyzes him with misery. Just one or two is always fine.

"So-- oh, you don't know anything about the Unversed yet, do you?" he asks Even.

"Unversed... I believe I have heard the name," Even says, his tone thoughtful as he likely tries to scrounge up any information on them from inside his head.

So, to satisfy both of them, Vanitas tells them as much about the Unversed as he knows as he walks with them back to the castle.

"They come from you..." Even muses aloud once there's a lull in conversation. "No wonder Ienzo has taken such a keen interest in you."

"I know more than anyone about them, but even I'm still learning. Sometimes, weird stuff happens and I have to figure out why."

"And, what did you say your name was, again?"

Vanitas pauses. He suddenly feels a little unsettled.

"I didn't," he says, feeling safer in not revealing his name. How could he forget who else resides in this castle? Ienzo was safe to interact with because he's so young, but Even is not only an adult, but a scientist. He could decide to essentially become his new Xehanort in the pursuit of learning more, or, god forbid, remind the current amnesiac of Vanitas's existence.

Anxious about how the rest of this conversation might go, Vanitas goes ahead and takes his leave without another word. A few Unversed spawn in his wake, and he quietly begs them to follow him rather than cause trouble for Ienzo. He hears them obediently trotting along behind him, and he somehow expects to see Ienzo when he turns around.

Maybe Braig was right to be cautious about letting Vanitas talk to the residents of Radiant Garden. Living right under the nose of your worst enemy sucks, Vanitas decides.

Even if he decides not to, he knows he'll end up finding Ienzo again. He just hopes he doesn't grow up any time soon.


End file.
